Get App
Benchmark stock indices closed lower for the week as investors were worried over further interest rate hikes by global central banks to tame inflation. The Nifty fell 1.03% to 17,412.9 and the Sensex dropped 1.13% to 59,135.13.
In broader markets, the BSE Midcap index rose 0.09% to close at 24,617.91 and the BSE Smallcap index advanced 0.38% to close at 27,952.11.
For the week, top losers among Nifty sectoral indices were Realty [-3.36%], PSU Bank [-2.85%], Bank [-1.86%], Financial Services [-1.84%] and Private Bank [-1.76%]. Top gainers were Energy [1.92%] and Oil & Gas [1.61%].
Indian rupee weakened by 6 paise to close at 82.04 against the US dollar on Friday (10 March 2023).
WTI Crude rose 1.27% to $76.68 per barrel and the Brent Crude advanced 1.46% to $82.78 per barrel on Friday. Meanwhile, Spot Gold settled at $1868.26 an ounce.
Company News
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL): The company’s arm — Reliance Polyester — has completed the acquisition of polyester business of Shubhalakshmi Polyesters & Shubhlaxmi Polytex. The acquisitions is expected to expand the company’s downstream polyester business.
In other news, Reliance Consumer Products (RCP) has relaunched the 50-year-old iconic beverage brand ‘Campa’. The company bought the brand in August 2022 for Rs 22 crore from Pure Drinks.
Reliance Jio: Radisys Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Jio Platforms has signed definitive aggreements to acquire Mimosa Networks from Airspan Networks Holdings for $60 million on a debt free, cash free basis. Mimosa’s product development, manufacturing, and sales teams of 56 employees will continue with Mimosa following the acquisition by Radisys. The acquisition will further accelerate Jio’s innovation and leadership in the production of telecom network products that deliver value to consumers and enterprises across the globe with cost-effective, rapidly deployable fixed and mobile broadband, said Mathew Oommen, president of Jio.
State Bank of India (SBI): The lender has raised funds worth Rs 3,717 crore at a coupon rate of 8.25% through additional tier-1 (AT-1) bonds, Business Standard reported citing sources. The coupon rate is the highest for any of SBI’s AT-1 bond issued so far in the current financial year, the report said.
Tata Motors: Shares of the company rose over 1% in intraday trade on NSE after the auto major said that its subsidiary, Tata Technologies, filed a draft red herring prospectus with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for an initial public offering. It is planning an initial public offering by way of an offer for sale of up to 9,57,08,984 equity shares for cash, representing approximately 23.60% of its paid-up share capital.
Adani Group: Shares of Adani Group companies rose after the group said its promoters have prepaid debt worth of Rs 7,374 crore, backed by shares of four group companies, ahead of its latest maturity in April 2025. A total of 23.3 crore shares will be released as part of the latest prepayment, the group said. The prepayment will be against financing from various international banks and Indian financial institutions.
Infosys: The IT major has collaborated with mobility specialist ZF to revamp its multi-echelon supply chain with SAP Integrated Business Planning (SAP IBP) and Infosys Cobalt. Infosys leveraged its hybrid agile implementation methodology to replace multiple legacy demand planning tools at ZF Aftermarket, with a unified, global SAP platform. ZF is a global technology company supplying systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and industrial technology, enabling the next generation of mobility.
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL): The FMCG company has appointed Rohit Jawa as MD and CEO and he will succeed Sanjiv Mehta with effect from June 27. Rohit Jawa, currently the chief of transformation at Unilever, will serve as whole-time director from April 1 to June 26, 2023 at HUL. The company Company also appointed Ranjay Gulati is as an Independent Director for five years effective from April 1, 2023.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS): The IT company is in the final stage of closing a deal with Marks & Spencer (M&S), according to The Economic Times report. (ET), TCS plans to close the deal worth $1 billion in the next few weeks. In addition to this, TCS is also working towards renewing their existing five-year engagement with the UK-headquartered company. The new deal may include payments for business process services and digital transformation programmes, among others, the report said.
Hero MotoCorp: The Indian two-wheeler manufacturer and Zero Motorcycles, a US-based manufacturer of premium electric motorcycles and powertrains, have signed agreements to collaborate on premium electric motorcycles. he collaboration combines the expertise of Zero in developing power trains and electric motorcycles with the scale of manufacturing, sourcing and marketing of Hero MotoCorp. In September 2022, the Indian company’s board approved an equity investment of up to US$60 million in Zero Motorcycles.
Bharat Forge: The leading forging company has announced its E-bike manufacturing facility at MIDC Chakan, Pune, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Kalyani Powertrain. The facility has a production capacity of 60,000 units per annum and scalable to 1 lakh units per annum, will undertake assembly of E-bikes for Tork Motors, wherein 64.29% owned by Kalyani Powertrain.
Power Grid Corporation of India: The company has received its board approval for over Rs 4,000 crore investment in two projects. The company has received board approval for investment of Rs 524 crore for Eastern Region Expansion Scheme-XXIX scheduled to be commissioned by November 2025, and Rs 3,546.94 crore related to transmission system for Kurnool Wind Energy Zone/Solar Energy Zone (AP) scheduled to be commissioned by November 2024.
Computer Age Management Services (CAMS): The company said that it has acquired majority stake in Think Analytics India (Think360 AI), a full-stack AI and data sciences firm. Founded in 2013, Think360 AI offers Software as a service (SaaS) based products, data science and technology advisory services to market-leading firms in India and across the globe. It is one of the pioneers in using alternate data for financial inclusion and has recently launched analytical solutions within the ‘account aggregator’ framework.
Equitas Small Finance Bank: Shares of the company tumbled 12.16% in intraday trade on NSE after listing of fresh 78.95 crore shares pursuant to the amalgamation of Equitas Holdings with the bank. Further, 93,39,43,363 equity shares of the bank held by Equitas Holdings (erstwhile promoter) stand extinguished with effect from 3 March 2023.
ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL): The broadcaster said that it has “mutually” settled disputes with the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) and the insolvency petition filed against ZEEL by the latter has been withdrawn before NCLAT. “There is no penalty paid and no material impact on the financial position of the Company,” the company added.
SeQuent Scientific: The company has terminated the share purchase agreement to acquire 100% shareholding in Tineta Pharma. Earlier, in November 2022, it had announced acquisition of Tineta Pharma, but now the said transaction has not materialised. Therefore, the company will not acquire Tineta and the Share Purchase Agreement entered by the company with Tineta and its promoters stands terminated.
Global Markets
The US markets closed lower as investor were worried over Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish comments and signs that the central bank will increase interest rates further to curb inflation.
In adddition, banking and financial stocks declined due to concerns over the health of the US banking sector after California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was shut down following losses in its asset portfolio and SVB’s inability to access necessary funding to maintain adequate capital.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average index tanked 4.44%, Nasdaq slumped 4.71% and the S&P 500 index tumbled 4.55%.
On the economic front, the official payrolls report showed an increase of 311,000 nonfarm jobs in February, well above consensus expectations. The unemployment rate rose unexpectedly from 3.4% in January to 3.6% in February. Average hourly earnings also rose by 0.2%, slightly lower than expectations. Meanwhile, the ADP National Employment report showed that private employment increased by 242,000 jobs in February. Data for January was revised higher to show 119,000 jobs were added instead of 106,000 as previously reported.
Chinese shares fell due to signs of weakening demand and a lower-than-expected 2023 growth target unveiled by Beijing. The Chinese government set an economic growth target of around 5% this year during the annual parliamentary session, which started on March 5. The Shanghai Stock Exchange index fell 2.95%, the CSI 300 dropped 3.96% and the Hang Seng index plummeted roughly 6%.
China’s consumer price index (CPI) for February was 1% higher than a year earlier, rising at the slowest pace since February 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). China’s exports fell by 6.8% in February in US dollar terms and imports also declined by 10.2%. Meanwhile, China’s consumer price index (CPI) for February was 1% higher than a year earlier, rising at the slowest pace since February 2022 and compared with the 2.1% annual rise seen in January, said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Japanese stock markets registered rose moderately for the week, with the Nikkei 225 index rising 0.78% and the broader Topix index gaining 0.6%. Meanwhile, Japanese bank stocks on Friday fell, following a slump in their US peers.
Besides, the country’s central bank left its accommodative monetary policy unchanged in March. The Bank of Japan continued its ultra-loose monetary policy which sent the yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond (JGB) sharply lower. The yield stood at 0.42% at the end of the week, compared with 0.50% at the end of the previous week. The Japanese yen weakened to about JPY 136.7 against the US dollar, from around JPY 135.8 the prior week.
Japan’s GDP grew slower at 0.1% on an annualized for the October-December quarter, compared with preliminary estimates of a 0.6% growth, and also lower than 0.8% expansion. Private consumption, which accounts for around 57% of Japan’s GDP, inched up by only 0.3%.